Systems and methods for reducing energy consumption of a chilled water distribution system

ABSTRACT

A chilled water distribution system includes a chilled water loop in fluid communication with a plurality of buildings and also in fluid communication with a plurality of chiller stations. A monitoring and control system communicates with one of the chiller stations, hereinafter referred to as a “controlled” chiller station because it is configured with one or more variable frequency drives that are controlled by the monitoring and control system to modulate the speed of at least one chiller station component such as, but not limited to, a pump or a fan. By way of this modulation process, a differential pressure of the chilled water loop may be maintained in a “sweet spot” so as to optimize chiller station output while minimizing chiller station energy consumption.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/573,933 filed on Sep. 17, 2019, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/682,320 filed on Aug. 21, 2017,issuing as U.S. Pat. No. 10,415,869 on Sep. 17, 2019; which applicationis a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/299,182filed Nov. 17, 2011. All of the above-referenced applications are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties as if fully set forthherein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to systems and methods forreducing energy consumption of a chilled water distribution system bymonitoring and controlling a variable speed drive within a base orcontrolled chiller station.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A conventional chilled water system typically includes a cooling loophaving a return and a supply line both in fluid communication with atleast two chilling stations and with at least two buildings. In suchconventional systems, the water supply pressures produced at thechilling stations are relatively high, which in turn may cause anynumber of undesired consequences. By way of example, the high pressuresmay reduce an operational life of the system even though a standardmaintenance schedule is followed. Alternatively or in addition to, thehigh pressures may require more frequent maintenance, which in turnleads to higher costs. Further, the high pressures may necessitate theinstallation of pressure reducing valves, but while such valves may dropthe incoming chilled water pressures their installation increasescapital costs and system control complexity. Moreover, the pressurereducing valves may not adequately close off against the high pressuresand over-cooling can become a problem.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A chilled water distribution system includes a chilled water loop influid communication with a plurality of buildings and also in fluidcommunication with a plurality of chiller stations. A monitoring andcontrol system communicates with one of the chiller stations,hereinafter referred to as a “controlled” chiller station because it isconfigured with one or more variable frequency drives that arecontrolled by the monitoring and control system to modulate the speed ofat least one chiller station component such as, but not limited to, apump or a fan. By way of this modulation process, a differentialpressure of the chilled water loop may be maintained in a “sweet spot”so as to optimize chiller station output while minimizing chillerstation energy consumption.

In one aspect of the present invention, a distributed process chilledwater system includes a supply line having a supply line temperaturesensor; a return line having a return line temperature sensor, a flowmeter sensor in either the supply or return line, the supply linetemperature sensor and the return line temperature sensor and the flowmeter sensor cooperating to provide a differential temperature betweenthe supply line and the return line that when multiplied by the flowprovides the current cooling load of the chiller station in tonnage; aplurality of buildings, each building having a building automationsystem controller, each building in fluid communication with the returnand supply lines, the controllers communicatively networked together; aplurality of chiller stations comprising at least one base chillerstation, each chiller station in fluid communication with the return andsupply lines, the chiller stations communicatively networked together,at least one of the chiller stations in communication with at least oneof the buildings; and an operating system operable to processmachine-readable instructions, the operating system in communicationwith at least the base chiller station, the operating system configuredto receive a signal indicative of the differential pressure, theoperating system further configured, based on the differential pressure,to determine whether to modulate a pump speed of the base chillerstation, bring another chiller online or take another chiller offline tomaintain the differential pressure within a desired range.

In another aspect of the invention, a method for controlling a chilledwater distribution system includes the steps of (1) determining areal-time chiller plant load at a selected location within a chilledwater loop of the distribution system; (2) monitoring a real-time pumpspeed of a base chiller station that includes a variable frequency drivecoupled to a chilled water pump; (3) determining an energy load for aplurality of buildings served by the chilled water loop; (4) modulatingthe pump speed of the base chiller station to approximately stay withina desired range of pre-determined set point chiller plant load of thechilled water loop; and (5) determining whether to change the capacityof distribution system by bringing a chiller of another chiller stationeither online or offline.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred and alternative embodiments of the present invention aredescribed in detail below with reference to the following drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic system diagram of a chilled water distributionsystem having an operating system in communication with at least onecontrolled chiller station to modulate a pump speed within the chillerstation and/or to bring other chillers either online or offlineaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a schematic system diagram of a controlled chiller stationhaving at least one variable speed drive coupled to at least one chilledwater pump according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a schematic system diagram of another chilled waterdistribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method for determining a mode of operationfor a controlled chiller station according to an embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 4 is a chart for indicating a sweet spot range for operating acontrolled chiller station according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, certain specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of theinvention. However, one skilled in the art will understand that theinvention may be practiced without these details. In other instances,well-known structures associated with chilled water distributionsystems, the operating components used therein, chiller stations, pumps,sensors, a chilled water loop, various computing and/or processingsystems, various system operational parameters, and methods of operatinga chilled water distribution system that supplies one or more buildingshave not necessarily been shown or described in detail to avoidunnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the embodiments of theinvention.

In conventional chilled water distribution systems, the chilled watersupply pressures produced at various chilling stations are relativelyhigh, which in turn results in several consequences for the buildingsserved by the chilled water loop. For example, the high chilled watersupply pressure for buildings close to the chilling station maynecessitate the installation of pressure reducing valves to drop theincoming chilled water supply pressure, which increases capital costsand system complexity in terms of control, installation, andmaintenance. The high chilled water supply pressure may mean thatcertain types of control valves cannot close off against the highpressure and combined with low cooling water temperatures this maycreate an over-cooling situation that requires heating compensation.Further, the high chilled water supply pressure may result in increasedmaintenance costs and maintenance frequency for all of the components inthe system affected by the high pressure.

To address at least some of the aforementioned drawbacks withconventional systems, at least one aspect of the present inventioninvolves a chilled water distribution system that supplies one or morebuildings. For the present description, a building may generally includeany structure that utilizes a chilled water supply line of the systemand demands a non-zero load. Likewise, the term “load” may generallymean a flow requirement needed by the building's cooling unit, which maytake the form of a roof-top cooling unit. Flow requirements are oftenreferred to in terms of tonnage of cooling water, for example aparticular building may require 5,000 tons of cooling water from thesystem to meet its present cooling and/or heating needs. And, the loadrequired by a particular building often fluctuates throughout even asingle day due to temperature changes, weather changes, time of day(e.g., primary work hours), etc.

The chilled water distribution system may be controlled by monitoringcurrent cooling load of the chiller plant in tonnage; to maintain aminimum cooling load that still allows the chiller stations and thebuilding's cooling units to function adequately. Reducing the chilledwater cooling load may realize a number of advantages. By way ofexample, the chilled water distribution system of the present inventionand methods of operating the same may advantageously reduce overallenergy use (i.e., consumption) of the entire system and reduce energyuse for at least two networked chilling stations, which in turn wouldreduce chilled water production costs and chilled water rates. Thereduction in chilling station energy use may more than make up for anyincreased power consumption in one or more of the loads. Further, themaintenance costs associated with high pressure related problems may bereduced for the chilled water loop, the chiller stations and the loads.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic system diagram for a chilled water distributionsystem 100 having a chilled water loop or conduit 102 in fluidcommunication with a plurality of buildings 104 (individuallyillustrated as buildings 104 a-104 d) and also in fluid communicationwith a plurality of chiller stations 106 (individually illustrated aschiller stations 106 a-106 d). A monitoring and control system 107communicates with one of the chiller stations 106, and in particularchiller station 106 a, which is the chiller station 106a that isspecifically configured with one or more variable frequency drives (notshown) for variably controlling a speed of at least one chiller stationcomponent such as, but not limited to, a pump or a fan.

The chilled water loop 102 includes a supply loop 102 a and a returnloop 102 b. Pressure sensors 108 are in communication with the supplyand return loops 102 a, 102 b, respectively, and a pressure differencebetween the sensor readings provides a chilled water differentialpressure. Although two pressure sensors 108 are shown, the system 100may include a plurality of sensors for taking pressure readings atvarious locations around the chilled water loop 102.

Each building 104 includes a building automation system (BAS) 110(individually 110 a-110 d). The BASs 110 receive and exchange operatinginformation with the respective building's heating, ventilation andcooling (HVAC) system. In one embodiment, the BASs may take the form ofthe BASs described in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 12/609,452and/or 12/874,607, both of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties. In the illustrated embodiment, the BASs may benetworked together so they may receive and exchange information witheach other, the chiller stations and the monitoring and control system107. In another embodiment, the BASs 110 may operate independently fromanother while each communicates with the monitoring and control system107.

In the illustrated embodiment, each chiller station 106 communicateswith at least one other chiller station to provide a networkedcommunication link. Chiller station 106 a communicates directly with themonitoring and control system 107. As will be described in more detailbelow, the chiller station 106 a operates as the primary chiller stationin the group in response to the load requirements of the buildings andin conjunction with each chiller station's output and processingcapacity.

In one embodiment, the monitoring and control system 107 takes the formof an operating system having relational control algorithms thatautomatically calculate the most efficient operation of the chilledwater distribution system 100, to include the various components orsubsystems within such as, but not limited to, chillers, pumps andcooling tower fans based on real-time, building cooling loads. Themonitoring and control system 107 in operation as described herein mayadvantageously provide a holistic approach to maximizing energyefficiency while providing a stable operating performance not possiblewith conventional proportional-integral-derivative control.

FIG. 2A shows a close-up, schematic system diagram of a chiller station206 in fluid communication with a chilled water loop or conduit 202. Thechiller station 206 includes a plurality of variable speed drives 212coupled to supply pumps 214, coupled to return pumps 216 and coupled tocooling tower fans 218, respectively. Thus, one aspect of the presentinvention is the monitoring and control of the variable speed drives 212to quickly respond to real-time building load changes without requiringthat the chillers 215 run at either full capacity or zero capacity ashappens with conventional, existing systems.

FIG. 2B shows a schematic system diagram for a chilled waterdistribution system 200 having a chilled water loop or conduit 202 influid communication with a plurality of buildings 204 and also in fluidcommunication with a plurality of chiller stations 206, which may takethe form of the chiller stations 206 described in FIG. 2A. The chilledwater loop 202 includes a plurality of pressure sensors 208 formonitoring a differential pressure between a return line 228 and asupply line 226. The supply line 226 has a supply line temperaturesensor 222, and the return line 228 has a return line temperature sensor224. A flow meter sensor 220 is disposed in either the supply line 226or return line 228. The supply line temperature sensor 222, the returnline temperature sensor 224 and the flow meter sensor 220 cooperate toprovide a differential temperature between the supply line 226 and thereturn line 228 that when multiplied by the flow provides the currentcooling load of the chiller plant in, for example, tonnage. In theillustrated embodiment the BASs for the buildings are not shown. In thepresent embodiment, each chiller station 206 includes one or morevariable frequency drives 212 for variably controlling a speed of asupply pump 214, a return pump 216 and/or a cooling tower fan 218. Amonitoring and control system (not shown) communicates directly with atleast one of the chiller stations 206. For purposes of the presentdescription, the chiller station 206 in communication with themonitoring and control system is the chiller station shown on the righthand side and will be referred to hereinafter as the “controlled”chiller station.

In operation, the differential pressure of the chilled water loop 202may be monitored at several locations and the speed (i.e., power) of atleast one of the supply pumps 214 of the primary chiller station may becontinuously monitored. Each of the differential pressure locations willhave a minimum required differential pressure for the buildings tofunction properly (e.g., temperature, humidity, etc.). The speed of thechilled water supply pumps 214 at the primary chilling station will bemodulated to maintain the minimum differential pressure at all of thesedifferential pressure locations. In addition, information from thebuilding's chilled water pumps, for instance pump speed taken from theBAS, will allow the monitoring and control system to perform an analysisin real time or at least contemporaneously in time that ensures that anyreduction in pressure at one or more of the chilling stations 206 doesnot adversely affect the operation of the building. By way of example,if the differential pressure at one or more locations became too lowthen this may cause an overall increase in energy consumption among thebuildings 204 in aggregate.

FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram for a process 300 for controlling thechiller stations based on the differential pressure readings at desiredlocations throughout the chilled water loop. At 302, information isobtained by the various buildings by the respective BASs. At 304,information about the primary chiller station operation is obtained. At306, the monitoring and control system analyzes the information 302, 304to determine a mode of operation as indicated by decision gate 308.

In a first mode of operation (Mode 1), the chiller stations are eachonline, but none are at capacity. At 310, the monitoring and controlsystem simply continues to monitor the incoming information as indicatedby block 310.

In a second mode of operation (Mode 2), one or more of the chillerstations are operating at capacity or may soon be at capacity based oninformation from the building BASs. At 312, the monitoring and controlsystem determines if one of the chillers at one of the chiller stationsshould be brought online or if online already then whether its capacityshould be increased by signaling the variable speed drive for therespective pump.

In the third mode of operation (Mode 3), one or more of the chillerstations are operating substantially below capacity or may soon beoperating at substantially below capacity based on information from thebuilding BASs. At 314, the monitoring and control system determines ifone or more chillers at one of the chiller stations should be broughtoffline and/or which chiller should have its capacity decreased.

The control of one or more variable frequency drives coupled to thechilled water pumps may significantly reduce overall energy consumptionfor the buildings in aggregate. By way of example, the chilled waterdistribution system shown in FIG. 2 may be for various buildings on acollege campus. In this example, the primary chiller station may berequired to meet an average load of approximately 12,000 tons of chilledwater and accomplishes this with three chillers online in the primarychiller station. Once the campus load exceeds 12,000 tons then themonitoring and control system determines which chiller or chillers tobring online at one or more of the other chiller stations. Preferably,the monitoring and control system determines when to bring the extrachiller or chillers online on an as-needed basis so as to minimizefluctuations in the chiller stations' steady state operations andthereby reduce overall energy consumption.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the pump speed at chiller station 106 acontrols the differential pressure of the chilled water loop 102 tomaintain a desired minimum differential pressure. The pump speed atchiller station 106 c provides only flow/output control in response tothe total output at chiller station 106 a. The monitoring and controlsystem 107 monitors the pump speeds at chiller stations 106 a and 106 c,the chiller flow/output of chillers stations 106 a and 106 c, the totalflow/output of chiller stations 106 a and 106 c and the differentialpressure at selected locations throughout the chilled water loop 102.The monitoring and control system 107 then calculates pump speed for thepumps at chiller stations 106 a and 106 c and also determines the totalnumber of pumps to be operated at chiller stations 106 a and 106 c.

The monitoring and control system 107 may be pre-programmed to store allof the operational set points for flow, output capacity (e.g., tons ofchilled water), pump speed, number of pumps in operation for one chillerstation, and the desired differential pressure a various locations inthe chilled water loop 102. Further, each of these set points mayadjustable as building loads change for a variety of reasons.

In one operational embodiment, the chilled water loop pressure may becontrolled and a minimum energy level (e.g., Kilowatt per Ton) for theentire system may be achieved by controlling the speed of the pumps atchiller station 106 a and bringing other chiller stations either onlineor offline to maintain the Min Control Chiller Plant Load in the chilledwater loop.

Preferably, an operational sequence of the entire system may bedetermined by the monitoring and control system 107 even when variouschillers are different sizes and different evaporator pressure drops areflow controlled using the variable frequency drives on the chilled waterpumps instead of the evaporator flow control valves has been routinelydone in the past. Thus in FIG. 1, chiller station 106 c may be referredto as the “flow controlled” chiller station because it is the onlychiller station besides chiller station 106 a to have variable speeddrives on its chilled water pumps.

In another embodiment, variable frequency drives may be installed onother chilled water pumps in other chilled water stations. In such anembodiment, the monitoring and control system will control the sequenceof operation to operate the controlled chiller station in its “sweetspot” (see FIG. 4) in terms of energy efficiency and then bring onlineone or more individual pumps and chillers of other chiller stations.FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram 400 showing how the baseline or“controlled” chiller station operates over a range of capacities or flowrates. By way of example, the controlled chiller station may operate ata maximum flow rate to generate a maximum actual control chiller plantcapacity load 402 in the chilled water loop or the controlled chillerstation may operate at a minimum flow rate to generate a minimum actualcontrol chiller plant capacity load 404 in the chilled water loop. Eachsuch load may be measured in, for example, tons. Preferably, themonitoring and controlling system 107 (FIG. 1) functions to control theflow rate of the controlled chiller station to maintain the chillerplant capacity load in the chilled water loop between a maximum setpoint406 and minimum setpoint 408 control chiller plant load, and thus withina predetermined “sweet spot” 410. When above or below the actual maximum402 or minimum 404 chiller plant load, respectively, then the monitoringand control system 107 will determine whether a second individualchiller at one of the other chiller stations should be brought online oroffline to move back into the “sweet spot” 410 and still adequately meetthe current chilled water load requirements of the buildings.

Now referring back to FIG. 2B, when the chilled water load requirementsof the buildings 204 are low enough, chilling station 206 (controlledchiller station) can handle the entire load. Specific differentialpressure measurements from around the chilled water loop 202 will becontinuously monitored. The monitoring and control system 207 willdetermine which of the differential pressure locations should be usedfor control purposes. By way of example, if a minimum set point for oneof the buildings 204 (say the upper left building in FIG. 2B) is sixpound-force per square inch gauge (psig) and another building (say thelower right building in FIG. 2B) has a minimum set point of two psig,but the actual pressure at the upper left building is six psig and theactual pressure at the lower right building is five psig then thedifferential pressure for the upper left building would be used forcontrol. Because the minimum set point for the building dictatingcontrol is being met by the actual pressure then the monitoring andcontrol system 207 would command the chilled water pump speeds andchilled flow rates at the controlled chiller station 206 to remainconstant.

As the building load requirements increase, such as for one or morebuildings, then the differential pressure throughout the chilled waterloop 202 may decrease and one or more of the measured pressure locationsmay drop below its required set point. As such, the monitoring andcontrol system 207 will then begin to increase the chilled water pumpspeeds at the controlled chiller station 206, which will also increasepump flow and this will cause the Control Chiller Plant load to increaseuntil the requisite set point min Control Chiller Plant load is againachieved. In one embodiment, the chilled water pump speeds areincrementally increased until the requisite set point Control ChillerPlant load is achieved.

At a different operational period where the building chilled water loadshave decreased, the differential pressure throughout the chilled waterloop 202 would correspondingly increase, which may cause one or more ofthe measured pressure locations to rise above their required set points.In turn, the monitoring and control system 207 will begin to decreasethe chilled water pump speeds at the controlled chiller station 206,which also decreases pump flow and this will cause the Control ChillerPlant load to decrease until the actual Chiller Plant load in thechilled water loop 202 meets the required set point Chiller Plant loadin the same. In one embodiment, the chilled water pump speeds areincrementally decreased until the requisite set point Chiller Plant loadis achieved.

The process of the pump speeds at the controlled chiller station 206being modulated to maintain the Control Chiller Plant load wouldcontinue as long as the output of the controlled chiller station 206 isanticipated to remain within the constraints of its minimum and maximumoutput and flow. Once the controlled chiller station 206 has reachedeither a maximum or minimum flow rate then additional action will likelybe required, for example bring other pumps and chillers in one of moreof the other chiller stations either online or offline.

By way of example, when the controlled chiller station 206 reaches itsmaximum output, depending on the anticipated building cooling loads forthe remainder of the day, one or both of the other chiller stations mayneed to be brought on line. Conversely, when the controlled chillerstation 206 reaches its minimum output the monitoring and control system107 (FIG. 1) would no longer control the pump speed at the controlledchiller station 206, but instead would maintain the pump speed at itsminimum speed while temporarily disregarding the high control chillerplant load. Depending on the anticipated building load requirements forthe remainder of the day, the controlled chiller station 206 may need tobe taken off line.

For the example where only a single chiller station is online, then asbuilding loads change (e.g., increase or decrease, respectively) themonitoring and control system will modulate pump speed (flow) togenerate a corresponding change for maintaining the control chillerplant load set point. Since there are multiple differential pressuresthroughout the loop and multiple minimum set points, the monitoring andcontrol system may also determine which of the differential pressures isthe “controlling differential pressure” at any point in time. For theexample where only a single chiller station is online, then as buildingloads change (e.g., increase or decrease, respectively) the monitoringand control system will modulate pump speed (flow) to generate acorresponding change for maintaining the chilled water loop set pointand chiller plant load. Since there are multiple differential pressuresthroughout the loop and multiple minimum set points, the monitoring andcontrol system may also determine which of the differential pressures isthe “controlling differential pressure” at any point in time. Inaddition to modulating pump speed, the monitoring and control system mayalso determine the optimum number of chilled water supply pumps thatshould be in operation at any given time. When a pump is to be added orsubtracted the monitoring and control system alerts the operator toeither start or stop a pump, and once accepted by the operator, the BOPsystem will then start or stop the pump just as it currently does.Consequently, the monitoring and control system attempts to maintain thechilled water distribution system in the “sweet spot” where the desiredcapacity of the building loads is sufficiently met by the controlledchiller station as other chillers within other chiller stations arebrought online or offline. Hence, the pump speed, and thus output, ofthe controlled chiller station is modulated to maintain the desiredchilled water loop chiller plant load as selected by the monitoring andcontrol system.

In the embodiment where the controlled chiller station is continuouslyperforming pressure control, the monitoring and control system modulatesthe pump speed of another chiller station brought online to keep theoutput of the controlled chiller station in the desired “sweet-spot”. Inthis embodiment, the chilled water pumps at the non-controlled chillerstation do not react to loop pressure and will maintain a constant flowunless the output of controlled chiller station goes outside of thedesired “sweet-spot”.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, as noted above, many changes can be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope ofthe invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferredembodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely byreference to the claims that follow.

1. A distributed process chilled water system comprising: a supply line having a supply line temperature sensor; a return line having a return line temperature sensor; a flow meter sensor in either the supply or return line, the supply line temperature sensor, in tonnage; a plurality of buildings, each building having a building automation system controller, each building in fluid communication with the return and supply lines, the controllers communicatively networked together; a plurality of chiller stations comprising at least one base chiller station, each chiller station in fluid communication with the return and supply lines, the chiller stations communicatively networked together, at least one of the chiller stations in communication with at least one of the buildings; and an operating system operable to process machine-readable instructions, the operating system in communication with at least the base chiller station, the return line temperature sensor and the flow meter sensor cooperating to provide a differential temperature between the supply line and the return line that when multiplied by the flow by the operating system provides the current cooling load of the chiller plant, the operating system configured, based on the cooling load, to determine whether to modulate a pump speed of the base chiller station, bring another chiller online or take another chiller offline to maintain the cooling load within a desired range.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the base chiller station includes at least one chilled water pump coupled to a variable frequency drive.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the operating system modulates the pump speed of the base chiller station by communicating instructions to the variable speed drive.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the base chiller station includes at least one chiller unit operable to supply and receive water from at least one cooling tower.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the operating system includes one or more relational control algorithms for determining whether to modulate the pump speed of the base chiller station.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the operating system determines to bring another chiller online when an actual chiller plant load exceeds a maximum set point pressure.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the operating system determines to take another chiller offline when an actual chiller plant load falls below a minimum set point pressure.
 8. A method for controlling a chilled water distribution system, the method comprising: determining a real-time chiller plant load at a selected location within a chilled water loop of the distribution system; monitoring a real-time pump speed of a base chiller station that includes a variable frequency drive coupled to a chilled water pump; determining an energy load for a plurality of buildings served by the chilled water loop; modulating the pump speed of the base chiller station to approximately stay within a desired range of pre-determined set point chiller plant load of the chilled water loop; and determining whether to change the capacity of the distribution system by bringing a chiller of another chiller station either online or offline.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising calculating a desired pump speed for at least one other chiller station based on the real-time differential pressure, real-time pump speed and energy load for the plurality of buildings.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein modulating the pump speed of the base chiller station coincides with bringing a chiller of another chiller station either online or offline.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein modulating the pump speed of the base chiller station include providing instructions to a variable speed drive coupled to the chilled water pump.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein modulating the pump speed of the base chiller station to approximately stay within the desired range includes maintaining an output capacity of the base chiller station within a sweet spot range.
 13. At least one computer-readable medium on which are stored instructions that, when executed by at least one processing device, enable the at least one processing device to perform a method for controlling a chilled water distribution system, the method comprising: determining a real-time chiller plant load at a selected location within a chilled water loop of the distribution system; monitoring a real-time pump speed of a base chiller station that includes a variable frequency drive coupled to a chilled water pump; determining an energy load for a plurality of buildings served by the chilled water loop; modulating the pump speed of the base chiller station to approximately stay within a desired range of pre-determined set point chiller plant load of the chilled water loop; and determining whether to change the capacity of the distribution system by bringing a chiller of another chiller station either online or offline.
 14. The at least one medium of claim 13, wherein the method further comprises calculating a desired pump speed for at least one other chiller station based on the real-time differential pressure, real-time pump speed and energy load for the plurality of buildings.
 15. The at least one medium of claim 13, wherein modulating the pump speed of the base chiller station coincides with bringing a chiller of another chiller station either online or offline.
 16. The at least one medium of claim 13, wherein modulating the pump speed of the base chiller station include providing instructions to a variable speed drive coupled to the chilled water pump.
 17. The at least one medium of claim 13, wherein modulating the pump speed of the base chiller station to approximately stay within the desired range includes maintaining an output capacity of the base chiller station within a sweet spot range. 